James Cameron Hoping For ‘Avengers’ Fatigue; Wants Other Sci-Fi Stories

James Cameron’s contributions to modern cinema cannot go unstated. For one, he is a visual effects pioneer, always pushing for furthering cinematic storytelling with newer technology to further innovate within the industry. Whether it is through films such as The Terminator, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Titanic and Avatar, Cameron has pushed the envelope in blockbuster filmmaking.

Cameron is currently working on four new sequels to Avatar, which will be celebrating its 10th anniversary next year. The film remains the highest-grossing film of all-time in worldwide totals, but in regards to cultural relevance since 2009, it has since waned – whereas comic book franchises such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe have continued to endure with films such as The Avengers not only resonating with audiences to this day, but also influenced the industry in long-form storytelling.

The Academy Award-winning filmmaker recently expressed his hopes that audiences will start getting fatigued by the advent of comic book films:

“I’m hoping we’ll start getting ‘Avenger’ fatigue here pretty soon. Not that I don’t love the movies. It’s just, come on guys, there are other stories to tell besides hyper-gonadal males without families doing death-defying things for two hours and wrecking cities in the process. It’s like, oy!”

To an extent, Cameron’s comments make sense. Comic book films tend to follow super-powered men that do involve themselves in death-defying actions that sometimes bring collateral damage with cities getting destroyed. Films that certainly evoke this imagery include The Avengers, Man of Steel and Avengers: Age of Ultron – all include a third act climax in which the heroes are involved in a major battle that wrecks cities in the process.

But this is where Cameron’s comments will receive major criticism: comic book fatigue isn’t happening anytime soon. Sure, a select few individuals may feel a certain way about the current Heroic Age of Hollywood with franchises such as the MCU, the DC Extended Universe and even the Star Wars universe dominating not just the multiplex, but also the cultural conversation. But for all these cries of fatigue, these franchises continue to rake in billions of dollars every year.

And with Cameron referencing “hyper-gonadal males” as the most prominent superheroes of the day, that time is now changing.

Cameron has earned the right to say whatever he wants in regards to the current state of cinema. He has proven himself with his numerous contributions to the industry, but if he wants to continue to criticize the ongoing Heroic Age of Hollywood and push for more original sci-fi stories, maybe he should create another original sci-fi property that blows audiences away. He certainly has the resources and talent to do so.

But hey, Cameron has four Avatar sequels to work on. Maybe he’ll do that afterwards.

What do you think of Cameron’s comments? Do you think that comic book fatigue is afoot? The tracking on Avengers: Infinity War says otherwise, but who knows? Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to continue following Heroic Hollywood for all the latest news in film, TV and more.

Here is the synopsis for Avengers: Infinity War:

As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos. A despot of intergalactic infamy, his goal is to collect all six Infinity Stones, artifacts of unimaginable power, and use them to inflict his twisted will on all of reality. Everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment – the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.

10 Films That Need To Happen In Marvel’s Phase Four

This year, the Marvel Cinematic Universe turns ten years old. Marvel Studios has come a long way since 2008 and audiences have seen the universe grow into the biggest media franchise of the 21st Century. After ten years there are no signs of slowing down, in fact, it appears we’ve just scratched the surface.

Back in 2014, Marvel announced its Phase Three slate, and now we are almost half way there coming up fast on the final films. Phase Four is already on everyone’s mind, specifically after the game-changing event Avengers: Infinity War. Now with Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox, the possibilities have opened up even wider. Everybody is now under one roof, so what can we expect in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Here’s a count down the ten films most likely to appear in Phase Four based off of what fans want and the studio’s previous announcements. Click Next to get started!

I say he speaks heresy and madness,
and may a pox falls upon all of his future over-budgeted, bloated productions!

MCU FOREVER!

JOSHUA DIAZFRANCO

He is a genius and a great contributors contributor to the industry. Unfortunately he’s creating his own gatigue with Avatar. Ten years later. Four sequels. Too late for that.

CinemaConFan

I love both the MCU and Jim Cameron’s movies in general. His comment here reveals to me that he doesn’t truly love the MCU movies. While it’s true that cities get destroyed at times, the fans that are truly passionate about the Marvel movies love them because of the stories & characters. If these movies were just about the action, they would have fizzled out long ago. Also, Cameron failed to point out that movies like Ant-Man, Black Panther, and Guardians of the Galaxy 2 dealt significantly with family themes. That said, I’m highly looking forward to the AVATAR sequels…those are going to be beyond anything we’ve seen before.

Axxell

If you want new scifi stories, you’re in a unique position to make it happen.